Her father was supposed to be locked up until Meredith turned eighteen. She thought she had time to grow up, get out, and start a new life. But Meredith is only fifteen, and today her father is coming home from prison.
Today her time has run out.
Details: Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess, 212 pages, 3.78 stars on Goodreads
My Thoughts: Several months ago, I read Wiess's other book, Leftovers, and absolutely loved it. It was dark and moving and wonderful and brilliant, and it made my chest ache and my eyes water. I immediately added Such a Pretty Girl to my reading list, and then forgot about it. As I was reserving books from the library (I reserve five every nine days or so), I saw that cover and remembered just how much I enjoyed the author's writing and quickly reserved it.
When it finally came, I rushed through the current book I was reading and started it as soon as possible. I had high expectations for this one, but I wasn't disappointed at all! The writing was just as heartwrenching and dark and profound as it was in Leftovers, and several passages I had to savor because they were so beautiful.
In the end, though, I still didn't like this as much as Leftovers. It was written well and made me tear up in several places, but this plot has been done so many times, it's hard to make it stand out. Also, I found it a little hard to relate to Meredith. She was so dark and screwed up and depressed, I couldn't help pitying her, but I wasn't able to ever really understand her.
This is hard to read because of the subject matter, but if you're okay with gritty and edgy, this is a beautiful book to read. Be aware, though, that this isn't for the faint of heart, so if you know that you struggle with difficult material like this, it most likely isn't the book for you.
Plot - 3/5
Writing - 5/5
Characters - 4/5
Impact - 4/5
Inability to put it down - 3/5
Overall - 76% = B+
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